Category Archives: Board Books

Baby Beluga

Posted on March 2, 2014 | Comments Off on Baby Beluga

IMG_1468

Baby beluga in the deep blue sea,
Swim so wild and you swim so free.
Heaven above and the sea below,
And a little white whale on the go.

Baby beluga, baby beluga,
Is the water warm? Is your mama home,
With you so happy?

This book is as adorable as its song and sweetly sends kids off to bed.  I have only one small quibble:  if you were going to choose one of the thirty-plus species of dolphins to illustrate “way down yonder where the dolphins play” with Baby beluga, would killer whales be at the top of your list?

Author: Raffi
Illustrator: Ashley Wolff

Comments Off on Baby Beluga

Posted in Board Books

Tagged , , , , , ,

Jamberry

Posted on February 24, 2014 | Comments Off on Jamberry

IMG_1447

This adventure of a boy, a bear, and “billions of berries” was very popular a few years back.  It is great to read aloud, with a wonderful rhythm and enticing pictures (by the illustrator of the original Magic School Bus series).  You might need multiple copies and you are likely to memorize it.

Author: Bruce Degen
Illustrator: Bruce Degen

Comments Off on Jamberry

Posted in Board Books, Picture Books

Tagged , , , ,

Good Night, Gorilla

Posted on February 5, 2014 | Comments Off on Good Night, Gorilla

IMG_1172

My youngest loved this book as a young toddler.  He’d ask for it every night before bed and we’d watch the gorilla release all of his animal friends so they could follow the zookeeper home.  We’d loved the details, like the toy in each animals’ cage,  the balloon that drifts through each double-page spread, and the mouse constantly lugging around a huge banana.  He would giggle and giggle when one of the characters got a big surprise.  A real charmer and, of course, perfect for bedtime. (He also loved the Scholastic video version of the book, which is less detailed but equally sweet.)

Author:  Peggy Rathmann
Illustrator: Peggy Rathmann

Comments Off on Good Night, Gorilla

Posted in Board Books

Tagged , , , , ,

Usborne Touchy-Feely series

Posted on February 3, 2014 | Comments Off on Usborne Touchy-Feely series

IMG_1190

This series is nothing if not predictable.  A little white mouse says “That’s not my [robot/monster/train/etc.]” over and over, explaining why the item on each page is not the one he is looking for (usually based on their textures or colors).  At the end of each book, the little mouse exclaims “That’s my [robot/monster/train, etc.]!” and then explains why.  (For example, “Its antennae are so sparkly.”)  These books were very popular through the toddler years–we had the robot, monster, and train versions and there were lots more at daycare.  Strangely, the whole series is now out of print.

Author:  Fiona Watt
Illustrator:  Rachel Wells

Comments Off on Usborne Touchy-Feely series

Posted in Board Books

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Goodnight Moon

Posted on February 2, 2014 | Comments Off on Goodnight Moon

IMG_1196

Another book that needs no introduction, Goodnight Moon was part of my oldest’s bedtime routine for about a year, beginning when he was around six months old.  We hoped the hypnotic words, the coziness of the pictures, and the unchanging routine would help him (finally) go to sleep.  And, as he got older, we enjoyed looking for the mouse hiding in each picture of the room.

Author:  Margaret Wise Brown
Illustrator:  Clement Hurd

Comments Off on Goodnight Moon

Posted in Board Books, Picture Books

Tagged , , , , , ,

The Lady with the Alligator Purse

Posted on January 27, 2014 | Comments Off on The Lady with the Alligator Purse

IMG_1156

Miss Lucy had a baby,
His name was Tiny Tim,
She put him in the bathtub
To see if he could swim.

Does anyone else remember jump roping to this song?   If so, this book starts out as you remember it, but things soon start to change.  Before you know it, the lady with the alligator purse is prescribing pizza to cure what ails the baby and the doctor, the nurse, Miss Lucy, et al. are happily feasting away.  My youngest has a tradition of reading this “pizza book” with his Dad at bedtime when we’ve had pizza for diner.  It’s a keeper and it comes in both board and picture book form.

Author:  unknown
Illustrator:  Nadine Bernard Westcott

Comments Off on The Lady with the Alligator Purse

Posted in Board Books, Picture Books

Tagged , , , ,

Baby Cat Nicky 123

Posted on January 26, 2014 | Comments Off on Baby Cat Nicky 123

IMG_1158

When my oldest was a young toddler, Baby Cat Nicky 123 was his favorite book.  He loved having it read to him.  (Was it the cats?  The rhythm?  The bright colors?)  And he loved chewing on it so much that we had to buy another copy.  This came as a complete surprise; I had bought the book on a whim to compliment the (excellent) Nicky’s Jazz for Kids CD (which is still in regular rotation in my car).  Although this book is no longer in demand, well over four years later, I still have its text completely memorized.

Author:  Carol Friedman
Illustrator:  Carol Friedman

Comments Off on Baby Cat Nicky 123

Posted in Board Books

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Silly Sally

Posted on December 13, 2013 | 1 comment

IMG_0897

Silly Sally went to town,
walking backwards, upside down.

This book is all kinds of silly.  There are silly words, characters, pictures, and plot lines.  There are lots of chances for silly voices.  And tickling the listeners is all-but required.

If pure silliness isn’t enough to close the deal, there’s also plenty of repetition that makes it extra fun for the kids to join in and rollicking rhythms that it makes it a pleasure to read aloud.  And it is a great choice for a bedtime story when you want to end the day quickly, but on a high note.

We don’t have the big board book version (yet?), but it would a great choice for a reader not quite yet ready for paper pages.

Author:  Audrey Wood
Illustrator:    Audrey Wood

1 Comment

Posted in Board Books, Picture Books

Tagged , , ,

The Wheels on the Bus

Posted on November 29, 2013 | Comments Off on The Wheels on the Bus

IMG_0817

When the boys were around 2 years old, this was one of our most popular books.  We read (sang) this over and over and over and over again.  Watching the people on Sylvie Kantorovitz Wickstrom’s bus go all through the (beautiful French) town was fun, even the 7th time in a row.

Sometimes we read the Paul O. Zelinsky version for a bit of variety and to enjoy the paper engineering.  And the boys enjoy the video Scholastic made from the Zelinsky version.  (Who knew Kevin Bacon could sing?)  But it is the Wickstrom version that my youngest “read” to daddy tonight.

Author:  Unknown
Illustrator:  Sylvie Kantorovitz Wickstrom

Comments Off on The Wheels on the Bus

Posted in Board Books, Pop Up Books

Tagged , , , , , ,

George Shrinks

Posted on November 26, 2013 | Comments Off on George Shrinks

IMG_0808

One day, while his mother and father were out, George dreamt he was small, and when he woke up he found it was true.

This opening sentence essentially is the entire plot–the book’s appeal comes from the way George calmly but joyfully proceeds to fulfill his absent parents’ rather large to-do list under these unusual circumstances.  George Shrinks works especially well for very young pre-readers, so the board book version is ideal–I particularly recommend the lap-sized version, if you can find it.

Author:  William Joyce
Illustrator:  William Joyce

Comments Off on George Shrinks

Posted in Board Books

Tagged , , , ,